you're watching cbs 5 eyewitness news in high definition. just steps from their door, water. the fear about a christmas day flood. good evening. i'm elizabeth cook. >> i'm allen martin. not the night anyone would want, let alone on christmas eve. tonight, a bay area neighborhood is nervously watching a fast-moving creek that's threatening to ruin their christmas. cbs 5 reporter elisa is in east palo alto where people spent the evening sandbagging their homes. >> reporter: i'm standing in front of some of those homes that had to be evacuated last night. but just yards away is that levy with crews hard at work, coming up with a temporary fix before tomorrow's rain. while most people spent christmas eve stacking presents

under the tree, palo alto residents spent their night stacking sandbags, protecting their homes near a damaged levy, in preparation for more rain. sunday night, the creek spilled over the levy, flooding the neighborhood. >> we were swarmed with so much water last night that we had to run out. >> reporter: lucas brown was one of several evacuated. >> how is this affecting your christmas? >> terribly. horrible. >> reporter: he said he spent the night with his eight kids in his car. a block away, things are getting back to normal in the robinson home. they too were evacuated and are thankful their house was not damaged. >> it was like up this high. we were afraid it was going to go in there. but when we got back, there was no water damage to the house. >> reporter: their next-door neighbor, not so lucky.

his home is off limits, deemed unsafe after water got inside and affected electrical outlets. of major concern are seepages in the levy. the mayor says they're working on a long-term solution but for now have engineers out here for a quick fix. >> we'll be working all night to raise the level of the levy, reinforce it with sandbags. >> reporter: he plans to appeal to the state for resources. meanwhile, lucas brown has his own appeal, a christmas wish you might say. >> hopefully they'll fix these levies that we don't have to go through this once again. >> reporter: truck loads of sandbags have been wheeled in throughout the night to be added to the levy. we have city crews, county crews, engineers, and volunteers, all on scene, helping to make this happen so that residents in this neighborhood can have a safe christmas where they will not have to worry about that levy. reporting live in east palo alto. a beautiful break in the

weather today, but more rain is on the way. >> brian? >> not a thing to be seen at this time but that will change about midday tomorrow. but there is good news with this storm, because that low is mostly up off the queen charlottes in british columbia and that energy is too far away to do nearly as much as it did yesterday. we expect a mostly cloudy start to the day on christmas. then rain will spread south, but it is not going to be as bad as yesterday. the forecast models put about a half inch of rain in this. it will be not nearly as windy as it was yesterday. all the details coming up when we have kind of an unusual weather forecast in just a few minutes. >> we'll see you then. police say a man was hit just after 5:00 as he was crossing broadway. the car cars were racing when the man was struck.

police are looking for a black 90's honda civic with front-end damage. the man was life flighted to john muir hospital in critical condition. tonight dozens of former prison inmates are enjoying a christmas gift from the governor. he signed pardons for people's whose crimes ranged from drug offenses to robbery. >> i was young. i was out of high school. >> reporter: jim benedict says he was dumb, and hanging around some bad people 20 years ago. >> they were involved in things they shouldn't have been, manufacturing methamphetamines. >> reporter: he got involved too, only to get busted, and he spent five years in prison. he joined an inmate fire crew, not knowing he was absolute to have an experience that would change his life forever. in 1993, he saved a boy's life. >> i saved him. how could i live with myself if

i didn't try? >> reporter: readers digest even even featured his second- chance story. ken was paroled and spend the last two decades waiting for today, a pardon from the governor, years after he first asked. the state who locked him up officially forgave him for his crimes. >> to finally have some closure to a long story that, you know, i did something dumb when i was younger. >> reporter: today, ken is older, wiser and engaged. he volunteers as area schools and competes in bodybuilding events with his fiance. >> he set such an excellent role model for me and i love him for that. >> reporter: both are celebrating the christmas pardon, a priceless acknowledgment, not of the man he was, but the one he's become. >> it's not the end of continuing to do what's right and to give back. and to continue to try to live your life, you know, in a positive manner. >> reporter: ken didn't know

about the pardon until we called him today to ask about doing a story. the governor's office said they will notify the 79 who were pardoned in the next week or so. we reached one of the former inmates paroled right here in the bay area. he had not heard the news yet. he said he was grateful to hear the news on christmas eve and looks forward to spending the evening with his family. it may be christmas eve but the fiscal cliff is not far from the minds of lawmakers. the president and congress left washington on friday for the holidays with a promise to return later this week. there is only a week left to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts that will impact almost every american. tonight it appears democrat senate leader harry reid may take the lead in crafting a comp mice to prevent tax hikes on at least the middle class. the president was in hawaii for the funeral of senator daniel minoli. one of the president's last

acts before leaving washington caught some holiday travelers offguard today. grace lee on how an unexpected federal holiday scuttled some christmas vacations. >> i'm really upset. at this point, i don't know what can we do now? just wait. we've been here since 7:30 in the morning. my appointment was at 9. >> reporter: stranded an christmas eve. it was the same story for dozens who were supposed to pick up pass ports today. some had confirmation numbers. >> extremely frustrating and disappointing that i'm not going to be able to see them, not for my wife's birthday or my daughter for christmas. >> reporter: the passport agency was supposed to be open today, but in a last-minute decision on friday, the president declared christmas eve a federal hold. federal workers had complained that he should show some

holiday cheer since they had not had a salary increase since 2009. >> do you expect someone to come out here now? >> no. i respect that the president wants to give people a vacation. i just wish they would plan it a little bit. >> reporter: for jeffrey, it's not just an inconvenience. he was hoping to see his mother- in-law in germany before her open heart surgery. most gave up. but for a handful of people who had a life-or-death situation, they were able to get a new passport. >> you can see it. there it is. >> reporter: there are three passport agencies in california and our understanding is that only in san francisco did the few people get their pass ports today. the reason for that is that the duties of chose to come in on christmas eve. he drove in from napa to san francisco and he says he did it to help a few people out.

in the newsroom, grace lee, cbs 5. tonight some people are feeling the pain of procrastination. last-minute shoppers are searching for bargains but finding the shelves bare. christin ayers on the million reasons why they waited. >> reporter: twas the night before christmas and all through the door, a slew of last-minute shoppers with excuses galore. >> this year just kind of snuck up on me. >> reporter: the customers were fighting over toys in the aisle. shelves bare and picked over to the chagrin of this child. >> there's nothing in here. everything is gone! like the my little ponies, they aren't even around. >> reporter: the registers rang. a santa sang. but at the stroke of 10, it all came to an end. shops closed, leaving only one place to spend. because it's christmas eve and you know what that means. the only store open now is your local walgreens. >> christmas eve is by far the

busiest day of the year for us. >> reporter: 4,000 procrastinators will come through here, and leave vowing to do better next year. reporting but not live, christin ayers, cbs 5. a developing story right now for netflix users, the popular video streaming service is suffering a major outage. the company tweeted an apology, saying the problem is being caused by amazon's web services. a spokesman told the wall street journal the outage stretched, quote, across the americas. saying farewell to a beloved american actor. how holiday is remembering the career of jack klugman. a terrible christmas for another community dealing with a deadly shooting. the ambush attack on volunteer firefighters and what we're learning about the gunman. and the clean of england

with a high-tech twist on her holiday message. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

w him as a some of us knew him as oscar madison, one half of the odd couple. others knew him as quincy. today we learned jack klugman died in los angeles. he won who emmies as the messy sports writer who drove felix crazy. but his stage film and

television career spanned more than five decades. he passed away at his home with his wife at his side. jack klugman was 90 years old. they were only doing their jobs. answering the call for help, when a team of firefighters suddenly needed help themselves. cbs reporter on the hail of gunfire that greeted them. >> reporter: firefighters rushed to this early morning fire near rochester, new york, and were met by bullets. police say william spengler started the fire so he could lure first responders to the scene and shoot them. >> we're being shot at. multiple shots. i am shot. >> reporter: two volunteer firefighters were killed. two more were injured. because crews had to take cover, they couldn't fight the fire. it burned out of control, destroying seven homes. a swat team was called in. police say soon after, the gunman took his own life, ending the standoff. news of the deadly attack

spread quickly through webster. 19-year-old tomasz kaczowka was a college student and a 911 dispatcher. michael chiapperini was named firefighter of the year just two weeks ago. webster's police chief became emotional while announcing the deaths. >> michael chiapperini, with the police department... >> reporter: both men volunteered at this firehouse. crews set up this memorial of flowers and candles to honor the victims. at the vigil, community members came together to console each other and remember the men killed. >> at this time of year too, our men are hurt, and they're not going to be home with their families now. >> reporter: spengler had killed before. he spent 17 years in jail for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980. but authorities don't know why he decided to kill this time. >> police are searching for

spengler's service. she was last seen at the home the two of them shared. another community still reeling from tragedy, feeling overwhelming love and support from around the world. cards, letters and money pour into newtown, connecticut, where 26 people died in a school shooting ten days ago. also arriving by the truckload, toys. more than 60,000, filling an entire gymnasium and turning it into a make shift toy store. every child in the community was invited to come in and take one home. checking bay area headlines, a traffic tragedy. a 90-year-old san jose woman was killed this afternoon when her toyota was hit by a second car. this was at silver creek valley road. it's not clear how the accident happened. the driver of the second car was taken to the hospital. investigators are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a role. thousands of bay area nurses walked off the job again today. this 24-hour strike is the latest in a series of short-

term strikes by the california nurses association over wages and benefits. it impacted seven bay area sutter hospitals as well as two hospitals in san jose operated by hospital corporation of america. all facilities brought in replacement workers. and some good news for an east bay city. richmond's homicide rate is down and the city is no longer on the most dangerous list. this year, 18 people were killed. but three years ago, that number was 45. in fact, this year's is the lowest homicide rate richmond has seen since 2001. now a very special christmas holiday forecast from bryan. >> twaz the night before christmas and all through the bay, the rains had retreated, at least for the day. the storms that were on the coast all week long, now have retreated off oregon, where they belong. and in the midwest with bitter

winds blowing, where you're shoveling, plowing, raining, snowing. we watched how you struggled to simply survive. it was freezing here too. about 55. all that bad weather made everyone wait. but tonight there's few clouds and therefore no rain. there's something on radar that's hard to explain. it left from the poles and its traveling the globe. and it looks like the jolly old red elf of old. while children can nestle all snug in their beds, if we blow this forecast, we're better off dead. more rain on the way and no way to change it. can santa deliver the goods? don't you worry. looks like it's going to be another successful journey. rudolph is on hand to guide him. on christmas day, more rain will be here. that's why you see santa calls

them reindeer. in the mountains tomorrow, there will be snow mixed with rain. so carry some chains. tomorrow it's wet with highs in the 50's. wednesday as well will not quite be nifty. but thursday, my friends, the sun is among us. that's good news for us but bad news for fungus. can you hear him exclaim as he starts out his drive? merry christmas to all and please watch channel 5! merry christmas, everybody. we'll be back in a minute. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, well, well, well.

growing up, we didn't have u-verse. we couldn't record four shows at the same time. in my day, you were lucky if you could record two shows. and if mom was recording her dumb show and dad was recording his dumb show then, by george, that's all we watched. and we liked it! today's kids got it so good. [ male announcer ] get u-verse tv with a total home dvr included free for life. only $29 a month for six months.

still no sign tonight of a man who jumped off a bridge trying to flee police. 24-year-old anthony donaldson of san rafael ran from a dui checkpoint and was later spotted in the corte madera creek, near the college of marin. police say they tried to coax him out but he swam away. officers eventually lost sight of him. >> is your brother a swimmer?

>> no. my brother has asthma. he was wearing a lot of clothes and shoes. not a good sign. >> police finally called off the search this morning. a more successful rescue overnight near livermore. a man's pickup truck drifted into a creek, and he was stranded on top of his truck for hours. he was plucked to safety by helicopter and treated at a hospital for hypothermia. a similar rescue in los angeles. rising water stranded a man on an island where he was trapped for hours. glendale firefighters came to the rescue just before dawn. a swift-water rescue boat assisted. they were able to get the man aboard a raft and pull it back to shore. the man went to the hospital with symptoms of hypothermia but is expected to recover. pope benedict delivered christmas eve mass a few hours

ago. the pope asked everyone to remember the essence of christmas rather than what he called the commercial celebration. a few hours before mass, he hit a christmas peace candle and put it on the windowsill. queen elizabeth is trying something a little less traditional. her highness delivered her holiday wishes in 3d. rumor has it she did not return the 3d glasses. ahead, a christmas eve top 5 reel for the ages. and the injury bug bit both bay area nfl teams hard. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

mario manningham. 49ers have been hit by the injury bug at the worst time. looks like the 2012 season is over for wide receiver mario manningham as a result of this play last night. manningham reportedly is out for the season after an mri today revealed a torn acl and pcl in his left knee.

that will mean more reps for randy moss, and a.j. jenkins. look at the grass, okay? both vernon davis and this guy have concussions. today, at jim harbaugh's eight- minute press conference, this is all the information we got. >> he's got an issue that he's working through. >> will his injury further complicate that position? >> he's being evaluated. >> do you expect vernon to play? >> we'll see. i mean, the doctors will make that evaluation. radars quarterback carson palmer's season is over. yesterday he suffered a bruised lung on this hit.

either terrell or matt will start sunday. no. 5, watch this guy kick the puck to himself and then score. they lead toronto pass the san francisco bulls. no. 4, adams, nice catch for fresno state. i'm just trying to figure out, how in the world did they come down with it? smu won the game. no. 3, the poor field judge flipped over by colts' mike tepper. ouch! no. 2, sam, he gave this cardinal fan a christmas gift. his glove. the kid is stoked! merry christmas. and no. 1, the colts are in the play- offs. but the bigger store is their

head coach chuck pagano beat leukemia and is now back with the team. >> it's really great to be back, like a kid in a contained store -- in a candy store. i get to come around and be around the guys again. i get to do what i love to do. >> he was hired as coach in january this year and got diagnosed with leukemia before the season. he's been out a whole year, and now he's back. >> hard not to get choked up on that. we'll be right back. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

have a good night. here you go. you, too. i'm going to dream about that steak. i'm going to dream about that tiramisu. what a night, huh?

but, um, can the test drive be over now? head back to the dealership? [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a passat. that's the power of german engineering. get $0 down, $0 due at signing, $0 deposit, and $0 first month's payment on any new volkswagen. visit vwdealer.com today. from a neighborhood in san carlos well, david letterman is next. but first, we have a little treat. >> we do. because we know you're wrapping presents. we have some of the christmas lights from one of our favorite neighborhoods in san carlos. merry christmas! enjoy tomorrow!

welcome to hope lutheran church in reading, pennsylvania, for a unique christmas celebration. every year, we reflect on the miracle of christ's birth, how mary and joseph found shelter, how the good news the savior's birth was first announced to humble shepherds and how the wise men were guided by faith to bring gifts to the christ child. the christmas story echoes throughout this city. times are tough, and people struggle to get by, but they live in hope, and they rely on one another despite their different backgrounds and economic situations. without too much upheaval,